Y La Bamba w.s.g. The Parlor and Bells Roar

May 9, 2018 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Y La Bamba:

Y La Bamba’s Luz Elena Mendoza returns to themes of searching, metamorphosis, shared humanity, and a faith that is greater than just religion. Born in San Francisco as a first generation daughter of immigrant parents from Michoacan Mexico, she spent her childhood raised by the melodies and stories that were being told through traditional Mexican folk songs.

From the intimate, contemplative verses in her native-language, to the revelations of the history in her roots, her story is delivered with poise. Mendoza finds the intricate space between creation and growth to keep her poetic expression emotionally raw and ever evolving.

These songs are a soundtrack built for coming to grips with, not just one’s own mortality, but the fragility of the world, presenting sounds that carry the realness of ancestral trauma and the search of identity.

Bells Roar:

The name bell’s roar symbolizes the focus and attitude held in Sean Desiree’s solo project. It’s a reference to feminist writer bell hooks who speaks of intersectionality and solidarity in their work. Being a queer, gender nonconforming person of color Sean cannot isolate forms of oppression. The roar represents the fight to not be silent and to use their creative voice to stop ongoing domination. The goal of the music is to reinforce solidarity within the movement and create affirming spaces for queer and trans people of color. They’ve taught themselves to play multiple instruments and produce in order to keep the project true to their voice and self-sustaining. They have performed everywhere from art hubs like the Brooklyn Museum and Andy Warhol Museum to institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh, Cornell, Columbia and Rutgers. They have a new self-produced album coming out Spring 2017 on Firebrand Records.